Structure of self-opening/closing umbrella

ABSTRACT

A self-opening/closing umbrella includes a central shaft unit having an improved structure. The central shaft unit forms a raised channel on one side of a third shaft segment and a pulley is pivotally mounted to a lower portion of the raised channel. A second shaft segment has a top to which an internal plug including a pulley is fixed and includes a first pull rope having an end fixed to a bullet-head member and an opposite end extending upward to warp around the pulley of the internal plug, projecting through a sideway slot, extending downward to wrap around the pulley inside the third shaft segment for upward extension to fix to a top end of the third shaft segment. A second pull rope has an end fixed to the internal plug and an opposite end extending across a top cap to project outward to fix to the runner.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to a structural improvement ofself-opening/closing umbrella, which comprises an improvement of theconfiguration of a central shaft unit of a self-opening/closing umbrellaso that the improved self-opening/closing umbrella allows easyaccomplishment of the final compression for closing the umbrella therebysignificantly reducing the risk caused by the compression and closingoperation of umbrella.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

The structure and operation of a commonly seen self-opening/closingumbrella are generally illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, wherein a three-foldedumbrella is taken as an example for explanation, which generallycomprises a handle (20) inside which an operation unit (10) is provided,a central shaft unit (30) inside which an umbrella opening spring (60)is received, and a runner (40) coupled to ribs (70) and comprising apulley around which a pull rope (51) having an end fixed to a top cap(41) and an opposite end wrapping around a pulley mounted inside the topcap (41) and fixed to a bullet-head member (50) warps. The operationunit (10) comprises a body having a hollow interior inside whichcomponents including a control ring (11), a control bar (12), and apushbutton (13) are received. The control bar (12) is pivoted to a lowerportion of one side of the control ring (11). The pushbutton (13) isreceived in an opening formed in a side wall of the handle (20) and isexposed for controlling the extension and contraction of the centralshaft unit (30).

As shown in FIG. 1, the control ring (11) comprises a small spring (111)externally set at one side thereof. The control ring (11) forms thereina projection bar (112) at a location corresponding to the small spring(111) to engage and retain the runner (40) for keeping the umbrella in acollapsed condition. Further, the control bar (12) is coupled by a pivotpin (121) to the bottom of the control ring (11) at a location close tothe pushbutton and comprises a torsion spring (122) that normallymaintains the control bar (12) in a horizontal condition. When theumbrella is in a compressed and ready-to-use condition, the runner (40)is retained in position by the projection bar (112) of the control ring(11) and the control bar (12) is pushed downward by a second shaftsegment (32) of the central shaft unit (30) to become inclined. Thebullet-head member (50) is pushed by an inner tube (34) received in athird shaft segment (33) and biased by a spring plate (311) to engage aretention hole defined in a first shaft segment (31) of the centralshaft unit (30). As shown in FIG. 2, when the pushbutton (13) isdepressed for the first time, the control ring (11) is pushed inward tohave the projection bar (112) disengaging from the runner (40) and underthe action of the umbrella opening spring (60) received inside thecentral shaft unit (30), opening operation of the umbrella isautomatically carried out and under this condition, the control bar (12)returns to the normal horizontal condition and contacts the bullet-headmember (50).

As shown in FIG. 3, to close the umbrella, the pushbutton (13) ispressed down again, and the control bar (12) pushes and causes thebullet-head member (50) to disengage from the first shaft segment (31),allowing the runner (40) to become movable. Under the action of theumbrella closing springs (71) provided on the ribs (70), the ribs (70)and an umbrella canopy (not shown) are automatically collapsed and therunner (40) is moved downward. Afterward, the top end of the umbrellacan be forcibly pushed to compress the central shaft unit (30) towardthe handle (20), thereby completing the closing of the umbrella as shownin FIG. 1.

However, several problems can be found in the operation of the abovementioned self-opening/closing umbrella:

(1) Pressing down the pushbutton to close the umbrella only collapse theribs and a canopy of the umbrella, and the central shaft unit is stillkept in a condition where the three segments are fully extended to setthe umbrella in the greatest length thereof. It is difficult for a womanor a child whose hands are relatively short to hand grip and compressthe central shaft unit toward the handle for completely closing theumbrella.

(2) The umbrella opening spring that normally shows a length spanningfrom the first shaft segment to the top end of the third shaft segmentis of quite a strength and spring force, so that a user must apply agreat force with his or her hands to compress and close the umbrella.This makes it difficult for a woman or a child whose hands are ofrelatively weak physical strength to compress and close the umbrella.

(3) Since the strength and spring force of the umbrella opening springare great, if, in an attempt to close the umbrella, the application offorce or the operation of closing the umbrella is in error, thecompressed umbrella opening spring will spring the central shaft unitback with a great force. This often hurts the hands or other portions ofthe body of the user.

Thus, the known self-opening/closing umbrella is of a design that isimperfect and may cause inconvenience and danger in the use thereof.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A primary objective of the present invention is to provide aself-opening/closing umbrella that allows a runner and a third shaftsegment to simultaneously move downward so as to shorten the centralshaft unit in closing an umbrella, whereby an operation of compressingand closing the umbrella is made easy and potential risk issignificantly reduced.

Another objective of the present invention is to shorten the overalllength of an umbrella opening spring so as to reduce the strength andspring force thereof, but still allowing full expansion of a centralshaft unit, whereby hurting caused in compressing and closing theumbrella can be avoided.

A further objective of the present invention is provide an inner tubeinside a second shaft segment of a central shaft unit in order toprevent an umbrella opening spring from reducing the spring forcethereof due to twisting and deformation caused by squeezing incompressing and closing the umbrella and also to prevent the twisted anddeformed umbrella opening spring from interfering with downward movementof the inner tube, making the operation of compressing and closing theumbrella easy and effortless.

To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides aself-opening/closing umbrella that comprises an improvement of theconfiguration of a central shaft unit, wherein a raised channel isformed on one side of the third shaft segment. The raised channel has alower portion to which a pulley is pivotally mounted. The second shaftsegment has a top end to which an internal plug that forms centrally athrough hole is coupled. The internal plug forms a sideway slot in aside wall thereof. A pulley is pivotally mounted inside the sidewayslot. The inner tube of the central shaft unit has a top end fixedinside the through hole of the internal plug. The inner tube forms in aside wall thereof a vertically-extending open slit. A first pull rope isprovided, having an end fixed to a top end of a bullet-head member andan opposite end extending upward to wrap around the pulley of theinternal plug and projecting out of the sideway slot to wrap aroundlower side of the pulley inside the third shaft segment for upwardextension to fix to a top end of the third shaft segment or a bottom ofa top cap. A second pull rope is further provided, having an end fixedto a top end of the internal plug and an opposite end extending upwardto warp around a pulley inside the top cap and project outward forfixing to a top of the runner. Further, an umbrella opening spring thatis arranged inside the central shaft unit has a lower end positionedinside the first shaft segment and an upper end supported on the bottomof the internal plug of the second shaft segment.

With such an arrangement, to open the umbrella, a pushbutton is presseddown to allow the umbrella opening spring to push the second shaftsegment upward. With the first pull rope and the second pull roperespectively driving the third shaft segment and the runner upward, theoperation of opening the umbrella is completed. To close the umbrella,the pushbutton is pressed down again, whereby the tension of the firstpull rope is released to turn into a slack condition. Umbrella closingsprings then drive the runner and the third shaft segment downward tohave the third shaft segment completely fit over the second shaftsegment and thus shortening the overall length of the central shaft unitto make the final compression and closing operation of the umbrella tobe carried out in a convenient an easy manner.

The foregoing objectives and summary provide only a brief introductionto the present invention. To fully appreciate these and other objects ofthe present invention as well as the invention itself, all of which willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art, the following detaileddescription of the invention and the claims should be read inconjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specificationand drawings identical reference numerals refer to identical or similarparts.

Many other advantages and features of the present invention will becomemanifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to thedetailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which apreferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of thepresent invention is shown by way of illustrative example.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1-3 are cross-sectional views illustrating the structure andoperation of a conventional self-opening/closing umbrella.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a self-opening/closingumbrella according to the present invention in a compressed conditionbefore the umbrella is opened.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the umbrella of thepresent invention in an open condition.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a closing operation of theumbrella according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an exploded view of a central shaft unit of theself-opening/closing umbrella according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following descriptions are exemplary embodiments only, and are notintended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of theinvention in any way. Rather, the following description provides aconvenient illustration for implementing exemplary embodiments of theinvention. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made inthe function and arrangement of the elements described without departingfrom the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Referring to FIG. 4, the present invention provides aself-opening/closing umbrella that will be explained by taking athree-folded umbrella as an example. The umbrella generally comprises anoperation unit (10), a handle (20), a central shaft unit (30), a runner(40), a top cap (41), a bullet-head member (50), an umbrella openingspring (60), and a plurality of ribs (70) and umbrella closing springs(71). The operation unit (10) is arranged inside the handle (20) andcomprises a body having a hollow interior inside which a control ring(11) and a pushbutton (13) that is received in an opening formed in aside wall of the handle (20) and is exposed are received. A control bar(12) is mounted to a lower portion of one side of the control ring (11).The control ring (11) comprises a small spring (111) externally set atone side thereof. The control ring (11) forms therein a projection bar(112) at a location corresponding to the small spring (111) to engageand retain the runner (40) for keeping the umbrella in a collapsedcondition. Further, the control bar (12) is coupled by a pivot pin (121)to the bottom of the control ring (11) at a location close to thepushbutton and comprises a torsion spring (122) that normally maintainsthe control bar (12) in a horizontal condition.

The central shaft unit (30) is composed of a first shaft segment (31), asecond shaft segment (32), and a third shaft segment (33) that aretelescopically received in each other. The central shaft unit (30)receives therein an inner tube (34) that has a top end fixed inside thesecond shaft segment (32). The first shaft segment (31) of the centralshaft unit (30) has a bottom end fixed to the body of the operation unit(10). The umbrella opening spring (60) is arranged inside the centralshaft unit (30). Each of the ribs (70) is coupled between the runner(40) and the top cap (41).

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 7, an improved feature of the present inventionis associated with the configuration of the central shaft unit (30) ofthe umbrella, which comprises a raised channel (331) formed on andextending along one side of the third shaft segment (33). The raisedchannel (331) has a lower portion to which a pulley (35) is pivotallymounted. The second shaft segment (32) has a top end to which aninternal plug (80) is coupled. The internal plug (80) forms, in a centerthereof, a central through hole (801), and also forms, in a side wallthereof, a sideway slot (802). A pulley (81) is pivotally mounted insidethe sideway slot (802). The inner tube (34) of the central shaft unit(30) has a top end fixed inside the central through hole (801) of theinternal plug (80) and has a length substantially corresponding to thesecond shaft segment (32). The inner tube (34) forms in a side wallthereof a vertically-extending open slit (341). Further, a first pullrope (51) and a second pull rope (52) are provided. The first pull rope(51) has an end fixed to a top end of the bullet-head member (50) at abottom end of the inner tube (34) and an opposite end extending upwardwithin the inner tube (34) and further extending outward through theopen slit (341) to wrap around the pulley (81) of the internal plug (80)to project out of the sideway slot (802) and enter the raised channel(331) of the third shaft segment (33) for further and downward extensionto reach and wrap around the lower side of the pulley (35) for upwardextension to fix to a top end of the third shaft segment (33) or abottom of the top cap (41). The second pull rope (52) has an end fixedto a top end of the internal plug (80) and an opposite end extendingupward to wrap around a pulley mounted inside the top cap (41) toproject outward for fixing to a top of the runner (40). Further, theumbrella opening spring (60) arranged inside the central shaft unit (30)is significantly reduced of the overall length thereof but with a lowerend thereof remaining positioned inside the first shaft segment (31) andan upper end supported on the bottom of the internal plug (80) of thesecond shaft segment (32), whereby an upper portion of the umbrellaopening spring (60) encompassing outside the inner tube (34).

Referring to FIG. 4, which illustrates the self-opening/closing umbrellain a ready-to-use condition after being compressed, the umbrella openingspring (60) arranged in the central shaft unit (30) is in a compressedcondition and the runner (40) is retained in position by the projectionbar (112) of the control ring (11) and the control bar (12) is pusheddownward by the second shaft segment (32) of the central shaft unit (30)to become inclined. The bullet-head member (50) is pushed by the innertube (34) and biased by a spring plate (311) to engage a retention holedefined in the first shaft segment (31).

Referring to FIG. 5, to close the umbrella, the pushbutton (13) ispressed down. The control ring (11) is pushed inward to have theprojection bar (112) disengaging from the runner (40), and under theaction of the spring force of the umbrella opening spring (60) receivedinside the central shaft unit (30), the second shaft segment (32) ispushed upward, but at this moment, the bullet-head member (50) is stillkept in engagement with the retention hole of first shaft segment (31),whereby with the cooperation among the first pull rope (51), the pulley(81), and the pulley (35), the third shaft segment (33) is pulled tohave the third shaft segment (33) moving upward. At this moment, therunner (40) is pulled by the second pull rope (52) to move upwardsthereby fully expanding the ribs (70) and automatically completingumbrella opening operation. At this moment, the umbrella closing springs(71) that are respectively arranged on the ribs (70) assume an expansioncondition. Further, the control bar (12) returns to the normalhorizontal condition and contacts the bullet-head member (50).

Referring to FIG. 6, to close the umbrella, the pushbutton (13) ispressed down again, and the control bar (12) pushes and causes thebullet-head member (50) to disengage from the first shaft segment (31).At this moment, the retention force of the first pull rope (51) and thethird shaft segment (33) is released. Under the action of the umbrellaclosing springs (71) provided on the ribs (70), the ribs (70) and theumbrella canopy are automatically collapsed and the runner (40) is moveddownward. The third shaft segment (33) is caused to telescopically movedownward to fit over the second shaft segment (32), making the expandedthe central shaft unit (30) converted into a length of only two shaftsegments. As such, the subsequent compression operation is made easy andconvenient.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or twoor more together may also find a useful application in other types ofmethods differing from the type described above.

While certain novel features of this invention have been shown anddescribed and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is not intendedto be limited to the details above, since it will be understood thatvarious omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the formsand details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be madeby those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spiritof the present invention.

I claim:
 1. A structure of self-opening/closing umbrella, whichcomprises an operation unit, a handle, a central shaft unit, a runner, atop cap, a bullet-head member, an umbrella opening spring, and aplurality of ribs and umbrella closing springs, the operation unit beingarranged inside the handle and comprising a body inside which a controlring and a pushbutton that is received in an opening formed in a sidewall of the handle and is exposed are received, a control bar beingmounted to a lower portion of one side of the control ring, the controlring comprising a small spring externally set at one side thereof, thecontrol ring forming therein a projection bar at a locationcorresponding to the small spring to engage and retain the runner forkeeping the umbrella in a collapsed condition, the central shaft unitcomprising a first shaft segment, a second shaft segment, and a thirdshaft segment that are telescopically received in each other, thecentral shaft unit receives therein an inner tube, the first shaftsegment of the central shaft unit having a bottom end fixed to the bodyof the operation unit, the top cap being fixed to a top of the thirdshaft segment, the umbrella opening spring being arranged inside thecentral shaft unit, each of the ribs being coupled between the runnerand the top cap, the improvements comprising a raised channel) formed onone side of the third shaft segment, the raised channel having a lowerportion to which a pulley is pivotally mounted, the second shaft segmenthaving a top end to which an internal plug that forms centrally athrough hole is coupled, the internal plug forming a sideway slot in aside wall thereof; a pulley being pivotally mounted inside the sidewayslot, a first pull rope having an end fixed to a top end of thebullet-head member and an opposite end extending upward to wrap aroundthe pulley of the internal plug and projecting out of the sideway slotto wrap around lower side of the pulley inside the third shaft segmentfor upward extension to fix to a top end of the third shaft segment or abottom of the top cap, a second pull rope having an end fixed to a topend of the internal plug and an opposite end extending upward to runacross the top cap and project outward for fixing to a top of therunner, the umbrella opening spring that is arranged inside the centralshaft unit having a lower end positioned inside the first shaft segmentand an upper end supported on the bottom of the internal plug of thesecond shaft segment.
 2. The structure of self-opening/closing umbrellaaccording to claim 1, wherein the inner tube has a top end fixed insidethe through hole of the internal plug of the second shaft segment andhas a length substantially corresponding to the second shaft segment andforms in a side wall thereof a vertically-extending open slit.